Tanya Maddox, RN took exceptional care of me on the OB/postpartum unit after my C-section. She was the absolute best nurse I had on that floor. She went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I was not only taken care of, but she made sure to be very thoughtful, caring about things that she did not have to do in order to make my postpartum experience the very best that it could be.
She was assigned to care for me on my 2nd night on the OB/postpartum floor. I was previously told that I needed to wait 24 hours after my spinal to get out of bed to take a shower and my 24 hours was up at lunchtime the day after my C-section but I guess since the day shift nurses were so busy that my nurse didn't get a chance to come to help me get up in the shower. I didn't want to be a bother so I wanted to wait until she got a chance to come to help me shower but that never happened. I figured maybe the night shift nurse would have time to help me get a shower. When Tanya first entered my room for her 8 pm round, she noticed that my transverse abdominal dressing was still in place and she asked me why it had not been removed yet and why had I not had a shower yet. I told her that I had to wait until after lunch to get a shower because that was 24 hours after my spinal and that I had been waiting until the nurse got a chance to help me so I just figured she was too busy so I thought maybe when the night shift nurse got caught up after her 8 pm rounds that maybe she might be able to assist me with getting a shower. Tanya didn't hesitate to get me up and in the shower. She stopped her 8 pm rounds right then and there and got me up and in the shower and helped me get my dressing wet so we could take it off without it being so painful to remove it and she even helped me bathe my back and legs. I told her that I didn't want to get her wet and she said she didn't mind at all and she was there to help me get a shower.
During the night she saw that we had not had any rest with the baby in our room so around 2:30 am she said, "do you want me to take the baby to the nursery for a few hours so y'all can get some rest?" I told her I didn't think we could do that anymore, I thought the baby had to stay in the room with us and she insisted on taking our baby to the nursery so we could finally get a few hours of sleep. She said I can take her and we can give her a bath and watch her for a few hours so y'all can try to get a few hours of much-needed sleep. She then took her to the nursery for a few hours and that was the best sleep ever even though it was only for a few hours. I was very appreciative of her kindness and thoughtfulness. Then when she brought our baby back to us a few hours later I found out that she rescheduled one of my scheduled meds that was due while I was sleeping because she said "you were sleeping so well that I didn't want to wake you so I just rescheduled the med for 6 am" I thought that was even more thoughtful and considerate of her and I was very thankful and appreciative for everything she did for me that night.
She is the epitome of an Extraordinary Nurse. She is exactly what I think every nurse should strive to be for their patients, a patient advocate. She went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure I had the absolute best postpartum experience possible during her shift. I can't say enough good things about the care I received that night from her, but she made my postpartum experience absolutely wonderful that night! She was hands down the absolute best nurse I had and I will never forget the kind, compassionate care that she gave me. I felt like I was the only patient she had that night and I know I wasn't but she made me feel as though I was! Please let her know how thankful and appreciative I am for the extraordinary care she provided me!